Chapter 2- Sing Like A Bird

She watched him slide the warm cup of coffee across the counter. He watched her with mild interest as she picked up the cup and took a small sip, letting the liquid coat her mouth before she swallowed. She hissed a little as the cup made contact with her cut and swollen lip. She sat the cup back down on the saucer and frowned at him.

"Sorry. I only drink tea, actually. The coffee is crappy and the cup is a teacup, but it is warm and better than nothing," he told her, shrugging.

"Do you have to call them?" she asked, fiddling with the teacup as she spoke. "I don't want to go back there."

He gazed at her unerringly, now. He took in her bruised eye, the various scratches and cuts on her skin and finally the gauze sticking to the wound on her neck. He sighed and leaned across the counter, his eyes finding hers and searching for anything that would tell him why she had spontaneously shown up on his doorstep in stolen, over-sized scrubs when she was supposed to be sound asleep in a hospital bed twelve blocks from here.

"Why did you escape?" he countered with a query of his own. "They're only there to aid you. Though I don't like hospitals, myself."

"I've had my fair share of hospital stays," she told him quietly, casting her eyes down from his. "Nothing good ever came of them."

Almost automatically, Jane's mind fell back to her file and the writing that Dr. Miller had placed in it. Clearly, Teresa was speaking about the stints in the psych ward. He certainly couldn't blame her. He was attempting to apply his sharp senses to make a take on this woman.

For starters, she didn't seem the least bit startled about what had happened to her just a few hours ago. He knew from experience, however, that once the medication they gave her wore off and she came back into herself, that would change. The second thing he was trying to figure out was why she had come to his doorstep. How did she know where he lived? Why the hell had she come here?

"I can try to persuade my boss to release you in our care," he offered her. "That's probably the best I can do."

She half shrugged and drew in the cup of tea closer to her. She looked up at him and offered him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Better than nothing," she said. "Thank you, Patrick."

He shrugged and returned her smile. "Jane, please. Just call me Jane. Agent Jane if you want to be formal."

"Jane," she repeated softly, letting the name tumble off her tongue. "Like the girl?"

"Just like," he confirmed. "So, do you want to tell me about what happened tonight and why you are sitting here?"

She pushed the teacup away and straightened herself on the stool she was sitting on. He felt her gaze on his face, tracing the lines and the wrinkles at his eyes before they glanced down at his lips and made their way up the slant of his nose to his eyes again. She licked her lip and hissed again in pain as her tongue moistened the cut.

"I didn't want to go back there," she finally said, "I didn't have anywhere else to go."

He knew she meant she couldn't go back to the home in which she nearly died. He didn't know how she even got here in the condition she was in. She had to be in pain now that the medication was probably wearing off, and walking along the streets to get here couldn't have helped her any. He sighed and came around the counter, pulling out the stool next to her and clearing this throat.

"How did you know where I lived?" he asked, not unkindly. He was going to take an almost childlike stance with her. He could sense the psychological toll the events of both her past and tonight had taken on her. He had seen this before with victims of violent crimes. He, himself, had been a victim of this. She was like a butterfly in a cocoon with no way out, for the moment.

"Phone book," she replied simply. "Only Patrick Jane in there. I went with it and hit paydirt."

"And how did you get past Van Pelt?" he inquired, lifting an eyebrow. "No offense, but these scrubs," he reached down and pulled on the material at her hips, causing her to flinch back from him, "are falling off of you. You have a homeless vibe about you."

He extracted his hand from her scrubs and put it up in defense. He watched her body relax and swing back straight, her eyes avoiding his as she suddenly found an interesting pattern in the marble tabletop.

"I'm really proficient at reading people," she told him softly. "I wasn't at my best with the dizziness, but enough to manipulate her pretty good."

"You still use your con skills, huh?" asked Jane, gathering a sharp look from Teresa. "Yes, I've read up on you. It's part of my job."

"Nice to know my life is an open file, apparently," she breathed. "I can't seem to turn them off. Anyway, it's like a defense mechanism. I can read people and figure them out. The redhead? Uppity and new. An easy mark. Didn't have to be skilled to see it, though."

He quickly nodded his head. "Since I just made you pretty uncomfortable, how about you even the score. You can read people, right?" he read off her questioning expression. "Read me. Go right on ahead. Nothing is too far in my closet, Teresa."

It was a filthy lie and he knew it. But he didn't think she had the skills she said she did to drag it out. Instead, she was just projecting herself to be adept. He leaned an elbow onto the counter and put his head in his hand. He looked on as she slowly looked at him and pitched her head as if considering. She turned to him, obviously intrigued by his request.

"I don't think I should," she told him. "You might not like what I say."

"You're that good?" he taunted, smiling cockily at her. "Show me."

Jane didn't believe too much in this kind of thing. He believed in facts and evidence. But he could tell Teresa didn't quite trust him. Maybe it would help her. He thought he'd try, at least. Give her a distraction from everything that was going on.

"You love your line of work, but you goof off as you do it," she started away, narrowing her eyes at him. "You joined the police force because a parent or sibling made you want to make a difference; change people's life. You obviously didn't have a great childhood, and there is something behind those gorgeous blueish eyes. Pain. A tragedy. Not recent," she read. "Maybe a sister or wife? Mother?"

The cocky smile slid off his face and was superseded by a stony expression. He said nothing to her as he slid off his stool and walked back around the counter. He could sense her watching him as he picked up the telephone from its cradle and dialed. He looked at her and saw the intense interest in her eyes. She recognized she had run into something he didn't like.

"Minelli?" Jane asked into the phone. "I need you to come over right away. Now," he emphasized. "Only you, and don't tell anyone you are coming here."

Teresa looked at him and swallowed softly. She had exceeded some kind of invisible boundary, no question. Pissed him off by prying and telling truths nobody else probably knew. Even though he had asked her to, she sensed he was testing her. She recognized that even before she told him anything. Still, she never backed down from the chance to read people. It was by far her favorite thing to do besides maybe getting herself out of situations by manipulation, which was her other specialty.

"Minelli, you seriously need to get here," he said again. "Alone."

"You don't follow rules, either," she blurted out aloud, causing Jane to mutter into the telephone. "He thinks you're joking."

Minelli heard her in the background and sighed heavily. He told the blond-haired cop that he'd be over, and also told him that he better had not had anything to do with her workout at the hospital. Jane hung up the phone and put it on its cradle, taking caution to use up as much time as he could.

"His rules are too strict for my taste," he finally said. "I prefer to loosely follow his rules and supplement them with my own personal flare."

"Meaning you do whatever the hell you want and he backs you up because you are good at what you do?" she snapped, a little miffed that he sold her out so soon to his boss. "They're going to take me away and do some kind of witness protection crap?"

Jane hadn't really thought about it until now. He was a little upset that she picked up on things he rather remain buried. He didn't yet know if Minelli had gotten to talk with Sac PD about his request. It was up to Sac PD if they would allow him to watch over her or not, as the Director wouldn't care either way, so long as she was protected by someone. Especially being the only living victim of Red John.

"I don't know," he told her truthfully, licking his lips. "That's the plan, but it doesn't always work out the way it's supposed to. It'll most likely be a twenty-four-seven patrol. Possibly even have an Agent live with you for a while."

"I don't need anyone. I'm better off alone," she told him, curling her hands together.

"Nobody is better off alone, Teresa," he told her almost soundlessly. "And it really isn't your choice to make."

"I trust nobody," said Lisbon. "It's better that way."

"You don't have to trust them," he replied. "They have to trust in themselves to keep you safe. This guy is a serial killer, Teresa," he warned her. "You're his mistake. Think about it."

She opened her mouth to reply, but his doorbell rang, scaring her. She jumped, and he leaned across the counter to steady her and keep her from falling off the stool. She shrank back away from him once again, standing and moving away from his touch. He put up both hands in defense and softened his expression. The poor woman was flighty. Rightfully so.

He left her there as he answered the door. It was who he expected it to be: Minelli. He let his boss inside and smiled at his abrupt halt, looking at the woman who had escaped past one of his Agents. Minelli took her in and shook his head, turning back to Jane.

"This wasn't you?" he demanded, pointing to Lisbon. "Was it?"

"I came here of my own accord," Lisbon told him, garnering a look from both men. "I had nowhere else to go."

"You could have stayed at the hospital," Minelli told her. "You almost died tonight, Ms. Lisbon."

"Virgil, ease off," Jane stated. "She's not a suspect in one of our murder cases."

"No, but she's a victim in which the assailant sliced and diced over twenty people, Jane!" he countered. "If you are asking me to hide her for you, sorry. No can do."

"Sac said no?" Jane said, outraged. "Virgil, you know you can't let those idiots watch over her!"

"Not your problem!" he told him. "She's coming back to the CBI so we can ask her what happened tonight and then she's going with them," he said. "Sac is heading there now. Let's go." Minelli gazed down at Jane's legs. "And for God's sake, put some pants on first."

Sitting in the interrogation room forty-five minutes later, Lisbon waited quietly for someone to come in and talk to her. Someone with a notepad and pen was going to come in here and ask her stuff she didn't want to relive. It was a sad cycle that seemed to haunt her for a long time. It wasn't like her to be this out-of-touch, but almost dying paralyzed her; made her collapse inside herself and put up a wall.

She was strangely drawn to Patrick Jane. When he was holding her hands against her own throat to stop the bleeding, she had instantly felt something. That sounded ridiculous to her, but it is the only way to explain why she had decided to leave that prison of a hospital and seek him out. There was a damaged intensity in him. It spun her for a loop. Usually, she could read people very well. Patrick Jane, while his facial expression and eyes gave forth some of his basic qualities and tragedies, left her with more doubts than solutions.

A connection? How? More importantly, what?

Her thoughts were thrown from her mind as she watched the Agent that was with Jane when they found her came into the room. He was carrying the notepad and pen, she noted with a smirk. He sat down across from her and flipped it open, no trace of a smile on his face.

"Ms. Lisbon," he greeted her. "I'm Agent Cho. Can you take me back to earlier tonight? What happened?"

She looked at Cho and tilted her head. Studying the stoic face of Agent Cho, she was struck by just how lonely he seemed to be. She scanned him quickly and noted several things to back up her theory: no wedding band, sad eyes, overly cologned, and lack of smile.

"If you smiled more, you wouldn't feel so lonely," she stated. "A little-recognized fact is smiles are the first thing a female notices about a male she's interested in."

"Pardon me?" he answered, clearly taken aback.

"The reason you are lonely is because you lack the one physical trait women see in a man."

"I'm not in here asking for dating advice," he told her. She'd struck a nerve. "We need your cooperation, Ms. Lisbon."

We need your cooperation, Ms. Lisbon. That statement flashed an idea into her mind. Why she was even thinking about it was anyone's guess, but it felt strangely right. She looked at Agent Cho across the table and smiled a sweet smile, and leaned back in her chair, relaxing for the first time since Red John had nearly killed her.

"I'd like to speak with the person in charge, please," she said. "Uh, the guy who was with us when I came in."

He groaned, shut his notepad and stood. "I'll go get him. Stay here."

She watched him exit, a self-satisfied smile playing on her lips. She just couldn't help it. She hadn't used her skills in quite some time. Not after her son and husband were... She shook her head and sighed. She turned her head to the door just as Minelli and Jane came walking in. Her eyes flickered from Minelli to Jane, who was staring at her, wondering what she wanted.

"Ms. Lisbon?" Minelli inquired. "Cho said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes," she affirmed. "He's not really good with facial expressions," she remarked. This elicited a grin from Jane.

"I've been saying that for years," Jane replied.

"Shut up!" Minelli told him. "What is it, Ms. Lisbon?"

"I won't tell you a damn thing unless you let Agent Jane watch over me," she said, getting straight to the point. "I don't trust anyone else to do it."

"That is not your say! If I wanted, I could have you put in one of our lovely detention units," Minelli told her. "The metal toilet and sink combo is very nice, I hear. I don't have a choice, you see. Sac PD has it."

"You are very good at talking. You have callused hands. A sign you shake a lot of hands. You are respected and well liked person. You could manage it if you wanted," she ordered him. You simply wish to spite Agent Jane because he pisses you off. But, sir, this is my offer."

Minelli looked at her and grumbled. He turned to Jane and shook his head at him. "Was this you?"

"I was with you!" Jane told him. "I had nothing to do with this."

"Yeah, but you're sure not protesting, are you?"

"Hell no," he said. "This woman needs protecting, not monitored between donut runs!"

Minelli looked from Jane to Lisbon and groveled. "Fine! I will contact the Director and try to work it out," he told them both. "You better tell us everything after this!"

"I'll sing like a bird," she promised.

He left without saying another word. Jane stayed behind and came to sit in the seat opposite her where Cho had sat. He rolled his eyes at her and smiled. She stared at him for a minute and then leaned forward, putting her elbows on the table.

"You don't trust me," she told him matter-of-factually. "I can see it."

"No, I don't," he concurred. "And you don't trust me, either."

She nodded her chestnut curls at him. "Nothing personal. Everyone is a con man if you give them the right time and material," she explained.

"And you've been through a lot," he added, hinting at the file he read on her. "That makes a person lack trust and accountability wouldn't you say?"

She dismissed that. "You've been through some things, too," she replied. "When I read you at your place. It hit a cord with you. I don't expect you'd ever talk about it, but this is why your trust and accountability is pretty low, too."

He nodded at that. "Trust is earned. Thus far, nobody has," he alleged. "Even Minelli."

"Wise."

"So... when you told Virgil you don't trust anyone else..."

"I don't trust you as a person," she said. "I trust you to do your job. You are good at it, judging by the well-practiced hands you had on my throat so I wouldn't bleed to death, and also the fact Minelli puts up with your shit," she added.

"Stop reading me," he told her softly. "If you are going to be in my care, I don't want you inside my head." He was serious, she saw.

She looked a little hurt at his inflection, but nodded. "Sorry. Habitual."

They were quiet for a long time. Each staring at the other but remaining silent with their own thoughts. Finally, Minelli popped back in and pointed to Lisbon.

"Sing like a bird, sister," he said. "But there are things to discuss." He turned to Jane. "She's in your care. Whatever happens to her from now on is your responsibility, Jane. As of now, she is down as a CI. That means she works for us. If we find another title suitable for you," he said, turning back to Lisbon, "we will change it."

"Is there more?" Jane asked.

Minelli put his fingers to his head and rubbed it. "Sac PD already has a place set up. It was seized in a drug ring. It's a cabin up in the hills. It's got a gate and is miles from here, thank God!" he exclaimed. "It's a pretty big place, so if he gets to be a pain in the ass like he is for me, you can go to the other side of the place. Not too far, because of the whole Red John thing..." he trailed off, wondering if this was bad advice. "You should be safe there. It's just until we catch this guy."

"Do you think he'll try to come after her again?" Jane asked. "Finish the job?"

"Yes," Lisbon spoke up. "I know he will."

"Do you, now?" Minelli asked. "How?"

"If Red John wants to find you, he will," she said simply, leaving it alone.

"She's right, Virgil," Jane said. "You know this better than anyone. It's been our case for a long time."

He turned to Lisbon. "You leave tomorrow morning, Ms. Lisbon. Jane will drive you up. Now, if you don't mind, I will bring Agent Cho back in here and you can sing like the fat lady."

"Bird."

"Whatever."

Jane lifted himself from his seat and leaned in really close to Lisbon. "See ya tomorrow, Teresa."

He exited the room and left a smiling, determined Lisbon alone to wait for Cho and her official statement.